Chapter Five

Bankai Training? What's Bankai?

Nick's House, the Next Day...

Nick, Tabitha, Elias, Jasmine, Sakura, Katie, Sayuri and Takumi were in the living room. Tabitha looked at the assembled group. "Okay, Sayuri and Takumi will have to come with us, but Lauren has to stay back to protect the house from another Bount attack. Katie, you're coming because I will need you to stay around me in case you go into labor., understood?"

Katie nodded. "Yes, Tabitha. Where are we going, anyway?"

"I told you all last night. We're going to see an old friend."

"This old friend wouldn't happen to be the brother of hat-and-clogs, is it?" Lora said, standing in the doorway waiting for everyone to leave.

"Yes, and I have already told him what we'll need from him. I gather that we have a few days to train before the Bounts try another attack, so that gives us some time. So, we'll get out now, and don't forget to call Gin and Rangiku over if the Bounts try to attack."

"I won't but Gin always knows when they'll attack because he can spy on them undetected."

"I know that. Well, see you."

"Have fun and don't get too hurt."

"Don't worry," Jasmine said. "I'll help if anyone gets injured."

Lora looked after the group of eight climbed into the minivan. She closed the door and turned the TV on.

Far Side of San Mateo, California, Forty-Five Minutes Later...

The minivan pulled up in front of a shop that looked like it belonged in Japan due to the structure of the building. On a sign hanging above the sliding paper doors, the message 'Welcome to Urahara's!' was written. Nick looked at it with a suspicious eye. "This is your old friends' shop? It looks like we just arrived in Japan!"

"Well, him and his brother like Japanese building styles, so they built their shops to look identical to each other. Now, let's go in."

The eight people filed out of the minivan and walked in, signaling a bell to ring. A man with unruly blond hair under a green pinstripe hat came out of the back, wearing what looked like a robe that was a cream white color and sandals over socks on his feet. "Welcome, Mrs. Negron! It's nice to see you again. Oh, and you've brought your husband! I thought I heard that he came back from Soul Society. You also seem to have your twins and a few others. Why all the guests?"

"Dominic, we went over this last night. Training."

"Oh, yes, that's right. Well then, step right this way," he led them all into the back of the shop and stopped in front of a wall. "Almost there," He picked a part of the floor off and revealed a ladder. "Ladies' first." He said to Tabitha, who hurried down the ladder.

One by one, the group had all descended down into a huge training area. It had a few different landscapes. There was a desert wasteland, a frozen tundra, a lush forest and a grassy plain. Nick looked around and Dominic came down the ladder. "Wow, who would've thought that this big place was hidden under that small shop." He laughed.

Tabitha whacked him over the head with her fist. "I told you to stop that the last time I came."

"Yes, I'm sorry, Tabitha," He said, nursing the bump that had appeared on his head. "So, what kind of training will you be attempting?"

Tabitha smiled. "The kids are going for Bankai training."

"Bankai, huh? That may take longer than a few days."

"Do you sense how much Spiritual Pressure is being emitted by my son alone?"

Not yet. Let me... Whoa! That's strong. Your daughter is close to it, as well. But, why am I getting too readings from the other girl?" he asked, pointing to Katie.

Tabitha whispered in his ear. "She's not here to train. She's pregnant, and pretty far along. That second source is the baby."

"Who's the father?"

"My son, who else could have conceived a baby with Spiritual Pressure strong enough to render weaker Soul Reapers unconscious before they're even born?"

"How should I know? So, do you think we can get your son and daughter to manifest their Zanpaku-to without the help of the dolls?"

"Yes, but Sayuri and Sakura may need them."

"Ah, so you've brought a Quinigami for some Bankai training. Is the one next to her a Quinigami as well?"

"No, he's just Quincy. It's only those four who will need the training. Did you arrange the training ground to be suitable for each of their Zanpaku-to's strengths?"

"No, why?"

"The wasteland is for my son, the tundra is for my daughter, the plain is for Sayuri and the forest is for Sakura."

"Really? What are their Zanpaku-to's abilities?"

"Nick, my son has a fire Zanpaku-to. My daughter Jasmine has an Ice and Snow Zanpaku-to, Sayuri has a Thunder and Lightning Zanpaku-to and Sakura has a Wind Zanpaku-to."

"Okay then. Let's get this Bankai training on the road."

Nick spoke up. "What is Bankai? I've never heard of it."

"Bankai, my young friend, is the second phase of your Zanpaku-to. The first phase, or Shikai, is your Zanpaku-to when first released. It can take up to ten years, however, to master Bankai."

"Then why are we learning it now?"

"Because, with both of your Spiritual Pressures," He pointed to Nick and Jasmine. "It may only take a few days to a month. Now, since your Spiritual Pressure is so high, you will need to concentrate on manifesting your Zanpaku-to in reality. Let's try it now."

Nick nodded and closed his eyes, concentrating on manifesting his Zanpaku-to in reality. He felt something and opened his eyes, seeing the guy he had known to call Kyubi in front of him. "Nice to see you again, Nick." Kyubi said.

"Nice to see you, too. Time to try some Bankai training."

"Really? Well then, we'll have the best chance of achieving Bankai in that wasteland. Let us go." Nick nodded at him and followed him to the wasteland.

Jasmine concentrated and felt a cold wind around her. When she opened her eyes, the manifestation of Evathon'Dala stood in front of her. "Are you my Zanpaku-to?" Jasmine said, staring at the human-like woman with a dragon-like head.

The newcomer nodded. "Yes, I am Evathon'Dala. You are Jasmine. Come now, let us go to the tundra in order to get the most out of this training."

"Um, okay." Jasmine said and followed the dragon-headed woman towards the frozen area of the training grounds.

Dominic looked at Sayuri and Sakura. "Okay, can either of you manifest your Zanpaku-to?"

"We don't know. We never tried." They said together.

"Well, let's give it a go. Sakura, you go first."

Sakura nodded vigorously. "Okay," She closed her eyes and concentrated. There was a refreshing breeze that passed her face. She opened her eyes and saw what looked like a man, but with the head of an eagle. "Are you my Zanpaku-to?"

He nodded. "I am Sanda-Ba-Do. It is nice to finally meet you in person, Sakura." he smiled at her.

"So, I guess we should train over in the forest, right?"

"You are a very smart girl. Yes, that is where we will be training. Come." Sakura nodded and followed after the much taller eagle-headed man. (Am I making them look a little too much like Egyptian Gods and Goddesses? Oh well.)

Last was Sayuri. She had closed her eyes and concentrated so hard that she had gotten a small headache. But, she then felt a tingling in her arms and opened her eyes to see a man with what looked like the head of a serpent, but with a few small streaks of electricity flying around his head. Sayuri looked a little afraid of her own Zanpaku-to's manifestation, but she got over it. "You must be the manifestation of my Zanpaku-to Chidori."

"Very good, Sayuri. Now, come with me to the plains. We must train for Bankai."

Sayuri nodded and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Yes, sir." She followed him.

Tabitha, Elias, Katie, Takumi and Dominic stood in the center of the whole training grounds. Samina looked at Dominic. "How are we supposed to not get caught in any crossfire?"

"Easy. We go up." he clicked the sandals on his feet on the ground directly below them and it started to rise up. It stopped around halfway up the wall of the surrounding area and Dominic looked at them again. "Now, we have a somewhat bird's-eye view of all four training areas. In addition, there is a shield bordering each area in order to protect the people training in different areas from attacks that occur in other areas. I'm a genius."

"Shut up and let's just start watching."

"Of course." Dominic said and looked over to where Sakura was training.

A/N: There's chapter five. Now, I put a Japanese word in this one. (The capitalized Italics) Sanda-Ba-Do means Thunderbird in Japanese. I put it as Thunderbird because Chidori technically means 'plover' which makes no sense for its involvement in Naruto.

Next Time: The four Soul Reapers are now training. Katie is watching Nick along with Tabitha. Elias is watching Jasmine. Dominic is watching Sakura (as I specified) and Takumi is watching his sister Sayuri. How will each method of attaining Bankai differ? You'll just have to find out next time on Bleach: Ice of Evathon'Dala.